Safaricom’s mobile money platform M-PESA has cemented its role as a financial powerhouse, generating Sh161 billion of Kenya’s service revenue in the year ending March 31, 2025.
This represents a 44.2 per cent contribution to the service in Kenya alone.
The platform’s 15.2 per cent year-on-year growth was crucial in propelling the company’s total revenue past the $3 billion (Sh388 billion) mark, a first in the region.
The company posted an 11.2 per cent increase in total revenue to Sh388.7 billion, while net income rose 10.8 per cent to Sh69.8 billion.
Safaricom also announced a final dividend of 65 cents per share, bringing the total payout to Sh48.08 billion for the year.
“M-PESA’s evolution beyond payments into credit and wealth management continues to unlock new growth avenues,” the telco CEO Peter Ndegwa said.
Now in its 18th year, M-PESA is not only Kenya’s leading financial platform but is also gaining ground in Ethiopia, where 2.8 million customers transacted over Sh20.6 billion in its first year of operation.
M-PESA was officially launched on March 6, 2007.
Initially met with skepticism, its ease of use and convenience quickly won over users.
A month after the launch, M-PESA had 19,671 mobile active users. In November of that year, the numbers had ballooned to an unprecedented 1,041,522 active M-PESA users.
Currently, it has 34 million users in the country.
The financial report released Friday shows that in Kenya, Safaricom’s service revenue climbed 10.5 per cent to Sh364.3 billion, with connectivity revenues contributing 50.8 per cent and mobile data growing 15.2 per cent to Sh72.9 billion.
Voice revenue defied global trends to post a 1.6 per cent gain, reaching Sh80.8 billion.
Ndegwa credited the results to Safaricom’s transformation into a technology company and sustained investments in innovation and community development.
“M-PESA’s strong performance reflects its critical role in our strategy to digitize financial services and empower communities across Kenya and Ethiopia,” he noted.
Safaricom also reported earnings before interest and taxes rising 29.5 per cent to Sh104.1 billion, with Ethiopia contributing nearly 10 per cent of group revenue.
The company now sets its sights on becoming Africa’s leading purpose-led tech company by 2030, building on M-PESA’s momentum to drive future growth.
